Shoe polishing and brushing device



Aug. 15, 1933. J MINOR 1,922,256

SHOE POLISHING AND BRUSHING DEVICE 7 Filed Aug. 28, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l m 75 Man N l E N TOR J. H. MINOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /NVENTOR lbw V M w z w Filed Aug. 28 1951 SHOE POLISHING AND BRUSHING DEVICE Aug. 15, 1933.

, Patented Aug. 1 5, 1933 Y 1,922,256 e SHOE POLISHINGAND BRUSHING DEVICE Joseph H. Minor,-,Hermosa Beach, Calif. Application August 28, 1931. Serial No. 559,895 4 Claims. (01. 97)

' My invention relates to devices for shining and polishing or brushing shoes while the same are on the foot of the wearer, andhas for itsobjects, first, to provide a mechanically driven polishing element supported in a manner so that any portion of the shoe of thelwearer may conveniently be applied thereto; second, to provide a shield guide rest upon which the shoe maybe placed and'supported while incontact with said polishing element at any convenient angle; third, to providemeans whereby polish may be applied to the shoes. While" the machine is in operation; fourth, to provide meansfor maintaining the polishing element in constant position relative to said shield-rest or guide. e

jI attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure .1 is a front view of the device raised angularly to the plane of the paper; Fig. 2, a side elevational section substantially on line 2 -2 Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a sectional rear view wherein the left half is substantially online 3 3, Fig. 2, and the right half shows the innershield removed to show the interior construction; Fig. 4, an enlarged view of the polish applicator; Fig. 5, an enlarged 'view of a rollerand portion of oneof the polishing belts; Fig. 6, an up-raised front elevation of .a modified form of the device; Fig. 7, a rear view. of same with portions of the rear walls removed to show the interior construction in section substantially on line 7 -7 Fig. 8; and Fig.

8, a sectional side view on line 8-8 Fig. 7.

Similar numerals refer .to similar parts throughout the several views. I r

The base 2 7 nd the box-likeback construction 3 .form aframe to support the plate or shield rest 4. This plate slants away from the front of the device, being, as shown in Fig. 2, raised about sixty. degrees from the horizontal. v shaped notches forming recesses 5-and 6 are cut in this shieldrest from the bottom and top edges respectively. The edges of these recesses are rounded'both wh'ere they adjoin the top and bottomedges of the shield and at their apices to form. a smoothly rounded contour. These recessesfare duplicated .in plate 7 which forms a rearshield rest. Between these two the flat faced rollers 8, 9, 1Q, 11, 12, and 13 turn on shafts lijournaled in said shields at the positions indi cated. in the dotted outline Fig. 1, and shown and illustratedmore in detail in Fig. 3. 1 Rollers 8,

l 12, and 10 support belt 16 and rollers 9, 11, and

' 1 6 are kept at proper tension by tighteners 28 andsupports and forms a backing or foundation for the actual polishing belt 18, which has a base 19 01? woven fabric, or elastic backing material,

thru which a nap of brush-like fiber bristles 20 extend, or in which they maybe set. It'is thus seen that the outer polishing element rides or floats on the inner belt which provides traction from the rollers, as well as support. By the placement of the rollers as shown in Fig. l, the polishing belts are made to'run parallel to the ridesof the V notches 5 and 6, extending beyond the edges far enough to eiiicientlyjrub on or brush against any shoe placed upon or rested on the edges of said V opening. e

The shafts 14, supporting the rollers are extended thru rear shieldguard '7, and are provided with V pulleys 21 and connected by round belt 22 Rollers 8, 10, and 12 are thus interconnected to turn in the same direction and pulleys 21 are of a proper size so that belt 16 isturned evenly without buckling. The same beltingand drive arrangement is provided for rollers 9, l3, and

11 and belt 15. These two groups operate in opposite directions andthe two pulleys 23 and 24. connected by the crossed belt 25 accomplish this purpose. The'shaft on roller 11 is extended at 26, provided with a worm driving gear and connected to electric motor 27' which may be operated in either direction and controlled by a coin or manually operated switch. Belt 15 is preferably turned in a clockwise direction and belt 16 in the opposite direction. Belts 15 and and belt 22 by tightener 29. Liquid polishing compound is applied to both belts by the applicator. mechanism particularly illustrated in the enlarged Fig; 4. The ridged roller 30 bears against the nap 18 of polishing belt 20. The outer periphery of the ridges of this roller also bear on roller 31 which ispartially immersed in the liquid polishing compound 32. The sidewalls of container 38 11old5 ing this liquid are flat, as shown, and form bear ings for these rollers, The motion of belt 20 causes roller 30 to turn and this causes roller 31 to turn. The liquid gathered up on the surface of roller 31 is communicated to the ridges of roller 30 and thence to the nap of the belt. In order to maintain a constant rate of application of this compound it is necessary that the liquid 32 be maintained at a constant level 33. To replace compound used, the container 38 is connected to a large supply tank 36 (see Fig. 2) by supply pipes 34 and 35. The lower pipe 35 acts as a supply pipe and the upper pipe as an air vent to admit air to the supply tank as the liquid is drawn off. As the liquid rises in container 38 it shuts off vent-pipe 34 and thus regulates the inflow and maintains the level at the line 33. It is to be understood that an applicator mechanism similar to that illustrated is operatively associated with belt 15 and connected by similar pipes to supply tank 36. In filling the supply tank it is necessary to remove the stopper on the filling spout and admit air. Hence the shut-off cocks 37 are provided to prevent overflowing of any remaining liquid into containers 38.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 6, '7, and 8 I provide front and rear guide-rests elf) and s1, angularly supported by a box construction 42 at the back, and provided with V notches 43 and inserted at any convenient angle or position. In

these forms the polishing belts are replaced by the simple circular brushes 45. These are driven in opposite directions by belt 46 and pulleys 47, and motive power is furnished from electric motor 48 operating thru worm drive 4C9. In this form no polish applicator is shown, and it is intended to be used for brushing, cleaning, or polishing only.

In the operation of my devices the driving motor 27 (or 48 in the modified form) is set in motion and the person operating the device places his shoes, first in the notched V opening 5 (Fig. 1) where the tops and sides of the shoes can be conveniently placed on the moving belts 15 or 16. The position of these belts and the shape of the notched opening is very important. In the first place, the angular travel of the belt in the inverted V shaped opening permits the shoes to be placed at any desired angle. The illustrative sections 50 and 51 indicated two positions and other positions are obviously possible. Others are indicated by the dotted outlines 52 and 53 in Fig. 6. The backs of the heels are easily reached by placement in the upper V notch 6, as indicated by the dotted outlines 54 and 55 in Fig. 1, and 56 and 57 in Fig. 6. By applying the shoes to the belts or brushes on alternate sides of these notches, and to. the upper and lower notches, all parts of either shoe of the wearer may be reached.

A further important feature lies in the position of the guard-rest plates relative to the traveling belts 15 and 16, or brushes 45. I have found that it is imperative that a guard or rest be provided in close alignment relative to the moving surface of the polishing or brushing members of the device. to keep thefoot in the desired position, since the belt drags the foot along in the direction of travel. The front shield rests 4 and 40 are therefore essential to the successful and efficient operation of the device. I have found, also, that the V. notches 5 and 6 are the most efiicient means of gaining access to the required stretches or portions of the moving belts. The apices of these notches should be rounded, as shown. large enough to receive the largest shoe contours likely to be used, while the side angles should be between 45 and 30 degrees from the vertical to make easy access to all parts of the shoe. The rear Otherwise it is impractical and impossible guard-rests 7 and 41 are cut with notched contours substantially the same as the front ones. While this is not absolutely necessary it is, nevertheless, a preferred construction.

When a person desires to use the machine he stands in front of it and places his feet one at a time in, first, the lower and then the upper notches. By shifting the angle and position of the ankle and foot all parts of the shoe, as above stated, may be reached. In this respect I have found that it is most desirable to have the shieldguides tilted back and away from the operator at an-angle of approximately 30 degrees. This is shown in Figs. 2 and 8 Two or more machines may be conveniently located on a platform. One may be provided with the polishing applicator While the other may be operated dry for brushing and polishing only, I have found the type shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 best adapted to applying polish, while the type shown in Figs. 6, '7, and 8 is best suited to the latter use. 7

Having, now, fully described both the construction andoperation of my devices, I Wish to be bound only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a device for polishing shoes, a frame, a shield provided with V shaped recesses extending in opposite directions attached to said frame and inclined at an angle to the horizontal, mechanically movable polishing belts operative parallel to the sides of the recesses in said shield, and mechanism including a motor adapted to drive said belts in predetermined directions.

2. In a device for polishing shoes, a frame, a shield provided with V shaped recesses extending in opposite directions from the upper and lower edges thereof attached to said frame and inclined at an angle to the horizontal, mechanically movable polishing belts operative parallel to the contiguous sides of said upper and lower recesses, respectively, and mechanism, including a motor, for operating saidbelts in relative opposite directions.

3. In a device for polishing shoes, a supporting frame, a shield-rest affixed thereto at an angle to the horizontal, said shield-rest having oppositely positioned V shaped recesses in its upper and lower edges, moving polishing belts operative along the contiguous edges of said recesses, mechanism, including a motor, for operating said polishing belts, and polishing compound applicators operatively associated with said belts.

4. In a device of the kind described, a polish applicator comprising, in combination, a ridged roller supported on a polish container can and adapted to bear upon a moving polishing belt and derive rotary motion therefrom, an intermediate roller supported within said can bearing upon and turned by said ridged roller and partially immersed in liquid polishing compound in said can whereby polish is transferred from said can to said ridged roller, and a polish con tainer can connected with a closed supply tank by a feed pipe and an air vent pipe whereby liquid polishing compound is maintained at alevel to partially immerse said intermediate roller.

JOSEPH H. MINOR. 

